NC HIGHLIGHTS

PROFILES

Colonel John Melia Army, (retired)
Member of TTT Advisory Committee, New Hanover County Schools

".. I run a JROTC program now but trained after retiring to teach elementary
school. My thoughts were that older males (that would be me) would have a better
chance of being hired in elementary school where we are in very short supply.
I was correct. I was hired to teach 5th grade at the school where I interned
but was offered the JROTC position over the summer and took that because I
could put 36 years of military service together with my new teaching skills.
I will retire after this school year at age 66 with nine years teaching in
NC, I hope that I can remain as a TTT mentor after retiring. I would say to
our men and women out there who are considering teaching for their next career
that you need to go for it! Our maturity, discipline, organization, skill sets,
and team mindset are vital in education. If they are worried about being back
in a college setting to obtain credentials, don't worry, you will tuck these
young college kids in your back pocket. I was able to go back to school full-time
for teaching credentials, 2 years. I am glad that I did not take the lateral entry
route of going to school at the same time starting a teaching career."

James Heath, (retired MSgt)

Spent twenty three years in the Air Force as a
Mental Health Technician. He is licensed in Exceptional Children/Behavioral
and Emotional Disabilities. He is currently completing his internship in the
Masters in School Administration Flex program at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.

"I feel that teaching and mentoring young people to grow is a
central human instinct.
I thought abut teaching while in the military.

I chose the military profession
to give me a structural set of tools to help me change the world. After completing
my military career, I found that I wanted
to enter teaching due to the Troops to Teachers advertising campaign I encountered.

I
chose to enter this profession as a lateral entry teacher. This meant that
I could enter the classroom and complete required work to meet licensure
requirements while teaching. This worked out well for me and the stipend
I received help
tremendously in defraying the cost of tuition and books. I started my licensure
process with
a local university; however I changed to a Regional Alternative Licensing
Center when eligible due to less stringent course requirements.

The great
attraction of the lateral entry program was the opportunity to acquire needed
experience under the watchful eye of a mentor, to be able
to debrief
and get feedback regarding your performance as well as to learn from
what you see
and experience within the classroom.

There is a sort of guilty feeling
associated with being a beginning professional teacher. You understand that
you are not the master of your trade that
you are aspiring in, yet the practical experience is important to you
and the
students you serve. Therefore, to get into the classroom and use the
skills and abilities
developed during your military experience is a pathway to help in gaining
the needed experience to teach.

I don't regret my military career at
all. However, the rewards in teaching are different. We save the world at
different rates. In teaching the
rewards are
often smaller and your presence is important and great. The reasons
one will enter such a profession are various. To give back due to
a great
teacher you have had and/or an educational community that prepared
you to become
who you
are in life. What better expertise is needed in the classrooms of
America than your maturity, dedication, negotiating skills and parenting experience
if you
have children? Troops to Teachers go into teaching for the opportunity
to
mentor and interact with young people, to get closer to their community,
and to awaken
young minds. Individuals with military experience have the drive
and
commitment to be successful teachers. Troops to Teachers combine
enthusiasm and dedication
of new teachers with deep understanding of subjects such as mathematics,
science, literature, or technology."